Florida’s SunRail Commuter Line Opens to Enthusiastic Reception


SUNRAIL GOT OUT OF THE GATES AND ONTO THE TRACKS on May 1 with the start of free service for the first 12 days of operation as passenger loads exceeded expectations. In its first five days of oper- ation 50,099 people rode the trains, an average of 10,019 per day. Trains ran full, especially during midday off-peak service times. To meet demand, all available cars were put into service and some trains were running with three cars, carrying about 700 passengers. Initially SunRail is running over 31.5 miles of the former the CSX A- Line (Atlantic Coast Line) trackage between DeBary, Orlando, and Sand Lake Road in south Orlando. In the second phase of construction, the line will be extended north to DeLand and south to Poinciana for a


Canadian National


B.C. COAL MINES SHUT DOWN: Low prices for metallurgical coal have led Walter Energy to suspend production at two mines on the former BC Rail Tumbler Ridge branch in British Columbia. The Wolverine mine near Tumbler Ridge closed in April, while the Brazion mine near Chetwynd will shut down in July. Nearly 700 miners produced 3.6 mil- lion tons of coal last year, all shipped to tide- water over Canadian National.


ALGOMA PASSENGER REPRIEVE: Canadian National’s Algoma Central Railway local passenger service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario, will continue through next March thanks to a $2.2 million federal subsidy under the Remote Passenger


24 MAY 2014 • RAILFAN.COM


total 61-mile service area. The railroad operates seven MP32PH-Q lo- comotives (rebuilt by MotivePower, Inc., from former MARC GP40WH- 2s) and 13 Bombardier bilevel coaches (four trailers and nine cab cars). The state purchased the line from CSX in 2011 and since then the freight railroad has been busy upgrading the former Seaboard Air Line “S-Line” through Baldwin as an alternative route between Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami, removing most freight traffic from the A-Line. The system tallied its first grade crossing incident on May 7 when the trail- er of a truck stopped on the Ronald Reagan Boulevard crossing was struck by a northbound train at approximately 5:38 p.m. as it ap- proached the Longwood station. See page 52 for more on SunRail.


Rail Program. CN had announced in January CN that the service would end on March 30, 2014, when the government eliminated the sub- sidy. The trains continued to operate through April as new funding was being negotiated. The ACR Passenger Service Working Group, made up of municipalities, First Na- tions, small businesses, outdoor enthusiasts, tourism lodge operators, and property owners who use the railroad as transportation is de- veloping a plan to support the service at the provincial and local level. The group says the passenger count has dropped by 40 per cent since 2007, when the train’s schedule was changed. While Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt says towns such as Hawk Junction and Hearst have other transportation options, many wilderness-related businesses along the route can only be reached by train.


Central Maine & Québec


TAKES OVER MMA LINES: On May 15, 2014, the Central Maine & Québec began oper- ating the former Montréal, Maine & Atlantic lines in Maine, and Vermont using leased mo- tive power. The company was still negotiating a certificate of fitness for its Canadian compo- nent, which was expected to come under CMQR control by June 1. Seven GP20D’s (built by MotivePower, Inc., and marketed by EMD in 2001) and eight EMD SD40-2s are being leased from CIT Group; the six-motor units had previously been leased to MMA. MMA declared bankruptcy in August 2013 after a unit oil train ran away, derailed, and exploded in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Québec, wiping out 40 buildings and 47 lives. The rail- road was sold at auction in January 2014 to


ANDREW GRAHL


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